WHEN MY 59-YEAR-OLD NEIGHBOR KNOCKED AT MIDNIGHT, I THOUGHT I WAS FIXING A PIPE, BUT I WAS REALLY SAVING MY OWN LIFE…

this is serious.”

Caroline stood straighter. “Yes.”

Emily turned to her mother. “He’s twenty years younger than you.”

“Nineteen,” I said before I could stop myself.

Neither of them appreciated the correction.

“Mom,” Emily said, lower now, wounded beneath the anger. “What will people say? What will the family think? What if he hurts you?”

Caroline’s face continue reading …